AGI policy news briefs summarize geoscience policy activities and related events in Washington, D.C. as part of an effort to keep AGI member societies and other audiences informed about relevant federal policy and legislative updates.
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On December 5, NASA successfully tested its new Orion capsule, designed to carry humans to deep space destinations like Mars or an asteroid.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing on December 2 to assess a bipartisan climate bill that would lower emissions of short-lived climate pollutants.
The House passed three bills the week of November 17 regarding the science that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses to issue environmental regulations. The bills attempt to change to how EPA reviews scientific data and how it issues permits.
On November 19, the House Natural Resources Committee Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee held an oversight hearing on U.S. preparedness for and response to volcanic hazards.
A bill to approve the TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline project failed to pass the U.S. Senate by a single vote on November 18.
In a press conference held on November 14 to discuss their climate adaptation plan, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) discussed the possibility of an agency-wide shift toward holistic watershed management.
On November 13, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a markup of 16 bills pertaining to energy, parks, and public lands.
On November 12, President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a climate change agreement, pledging to cut greenhouse gas emissions and collaborate in an international effort to combat global temperature rise.
On November 12, the European Space Agency (ESA) Rosetta mission successfully landed a probe onto a comet for the first time in human history.
During midterm elections, ballots in several states included measures to ban hydraulic fracturing and other unconventional drilling techniques.
A new study in the journal Nature suggests that wildfires be treated like other natural disasters, such as earthquakes or floods, where officials focus on adaptation and loss mitigation as opposed to prevention and response.
According to a new U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) report, U.S. water usage has declined to its lowest level in the past 45 years.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report on November 3 that synthesizes its published findings on climate change over the last 13 months.
On October 23, the U.S. State Department announced that climate change adaptation and mitigation will be top priorities when the U.S. assumes the chairmanship of the Arctic Council in 2015.
In the 25 years since the devastating Loma Prieta earthquake, scientists and policymakers have worked to better understand seismic hazards and implement strategies to reduce vulnerability.
U.S. Forest Service (USFS) scientists are beginning a three-year study to examine how wildfires affect water supplies.
On October 16, President Obama nominated MIT professor Dava Newman as Deputy Administrator of NASA. Previous Deputy Administrator Lori Garver resigned in September 2013 to manage the Air Line Pilots Association.
NASA’s Operation IceBridge mission began its sixth season of polar research flights monitoring ice sheets, glaciers, and sea ice conditions.
In an October 14 report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended the formation of an independent office to streamline the federal response to ocean acidification.
Climate change “poses immediate risks to U.S. national security,” according to a Pentagon report released on October 13.
The United Kingdom (UK) opened its first space weather forecasting center, the Met Office Space Weather Operations Center, on October 9 in Exeter, England.
Following the recent release of a report by the Interior Office of Inspector General (OIG), four House Democrats sent a letter to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) encouraging it to strengthen its policies for preventing illegal drilling for federal mineral resources.
The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission has asked the U.S. State Department to prioritize Arctic resource extraction during the 2 year U.S. chairmanship of the Arctic Council starting in 2015.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center reports that weak El Niño conditions have a 60-65 percent chance of developing this fall and winter.
On October 8, the White House unveiled a new agenda to protect federal lands against the impacts of changing climate by conserving and restoring natural resources and carbon sinks.
NASA’s Langley Research Center and the Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) have entered into a one-year agreement to test small unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for detecting brush and forest fires in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Suffolk, VA.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have extended the comment period for a proposed rule to clarify “waters of the United States” as defined under the Clean Water Act.
On October 3, Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Sally Jewell named Jennifer Gimbel, who currently serves as Deputy Commissioner for External and Intergovernmental Affairs at the Bureau of Reclamation, to be Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science.
A report released on September 29 by the Interior Office of Inspector General (OIG) relates the shortcomings of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) policy to detect and deter illegal mineral or oil and gas drilling on federal lands.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) launched a new modeling tool for meteorologists to study severe weather and track how it develops at the local level.
On September 25, President Obama announced the addition of more than 490,000 square miles of federally protected waters around the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument in the southern Pacific Ocean south and west of Hawaii, making it the largest marine reserve in the world.
On September 20, NASA announced the Mars Balance Mass Challenge, a new contest seeking design ideas for spacecraft payloads entering the atmosphere on Mars.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) held an educational seminar for members of the media on September 24 on how to accurately report on earthquakes following an event.
On September 23, NASA announced that they have contracted two private companies, Boeing and SpaceX, to transport American astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
On September 9, a majority of House Republicans united with 35 Democrats to successfully pass H.R. 5078, a bill blocking the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed changes to the Clean Water Act (CWA).
Representatives from the USGS, the NPS, and the U.S. FWS presented a congressional briefing on the science behind efforts to help rebuild shorelines, ecosystems, and communities after Hurricane Sandy.
On September 18, Democrats and Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee approved three bills that help to create and expand surface storage water projects.
This September, Congress passed a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) funding the federal government through December 11, 2014.
On September 18, the House passed two legislative packages that would approve the Keystone KL (KXL) pipeline and increase domestic energy production.
On September 17, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held another hearing to discuss the Obama Administration’s Climate Action Plan.
The House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held a hearing on September 17 to discuss legislation to reauthorize the National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program (NGGDPP).
On September 8, the House of Representatives passed the Tsunami Warning, Education, and Research Act (H.R. 5309) by voice vote.
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin has formed a committee to study the recent uptick in earthquakes within her state that researchers have linked to oil and gas development.
On August 7, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy announced the names of several new acting officials to fill vacancies in the agency’s administration. President Obama has nominated six officials, but the positions remain open while these individuals await hearings in the slow confirmation process.
Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Rep. Don Young (R-AK) recently announced the formation of a new bipartisan caucus designed to bring more attention to Arctic issues in Congress.
The Senate Committee on Appropriations released a committee report to accompany their Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill on August 1. Committee reports allow legislators to make their views on funding levels public at a time when the Senate appropriations process has come to a halt, and it is unclear whether specific appropriations bills will be voted on in committee and on the Senate floor.
Senator John Walsh (D-MT) introduced legislation on August 1 that calls for funding of CCS units across the country and follows recent regulations issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that mandate a reduction in carbon emissions.
Senate Democrats introduced a bill that would fund science research and education and reauthorize the 2010 Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science (COMPETES) Reauthorization Act on July 31.
On July 31, a group of Democrats from Western states introduced the Water in the 21st Century Act, which includes a number of programs intent on conserving and managing diminishing water supplies in drought-stricken states.